NGOs and community organisations in Garissa have roped in men in stepped up campaigns to end female genital mutilation.
President Uhuru Kenyatta in June 2018 promised to end the vice by 2022.
On Saturday, the organisations held a three-day workshop for 40 men and trained them on the adverse effects of FGM.
The training programme was held in Saka location in Balambala constituency.
The groups included the FGM board, Womankind Kenya and #MenendFGM. Officials from the national government were present.
Saadia Hussein said they engaged the men so they can take the lead in the fight against female genital mutilation.
Hussein is a champion fighting for women’s rights, including the eradication of FGM. She said she underwent the cut so she could be ‘accepted and married by men.’
‘We undergo the cut because of men and as such, we found it necessary to involve them so that they can save our girls from the pains and health complications that accompany the circumcision. Those pains are behind me now and I would not wish anyone to go through them,” she said.
“The pains of FGM is endured by women so that society can accept them and be married by men. We suffer because of men and that is why we want to involve them.”
Hussein said it is men who sit in the council of elders, where major decisions concerning the community are made.
She said that during the training men were shown video clips of what women go through during and after FGM.
“We realised many men in the audience had no idea what our women go through during and after the cut. We hope they will appreciate the problem and become effective ambassadors for the fight against the cut,” Hussein said.
Womankind Kenya programme coordinator Mariam Abdirahaman said although FGM prevalence rate in Garissa county has dropped from 97 per cent in 2017 to 94 per cent currently, ‘there is still a long way to go in ending the vice’.
Mariam said various organisations in Garissa were collaborating with the national government to involve men in their campaigns against FGM.
“In our previous deliberations, we realised that many who play an integral role in ending FGM had been left out and that is why decided to bring together men here in Saka today,” Mariam said.
Womankind Kenya operates in six counties including Garissa, Wajir, Tana River, Isiolo and Lamu.
Balambala deputy county commissioner Charles Muriche warned chiefs and their assistants against abetting the vice.
“Chiefs and their assistants are aware of their roles in the fight against FGM. After the President made the commitment to end FGM by 2022, there were additional instructions on their roles. Anyone who fails in his or her role will face disciplinary action,” Muriche said.
Abdullahi Ali Yussuf, one of the participants, said all the men in attendance made a commitment to end FGM in their communities.
The three-day training programme was sponsored by UNICEF Kenya. Participants were awarded certificates.